I always end up sitting behind them as a trumpet player with the way the orchestras are arranged here, it sure isn't a ghost to me tends to be so loud even on the quiet parts. Though when listening from the audience it feels so subtle yet once it's gone it's also super noticeable.
This is not just a wonderful piece of music. It is, I believe, at the same time as the foreboding of the approaching end, the composer's loving farewell to the memory of his father, the horn player, and thus perhaps to music itself, which he had learned to love through his father.
Look at Ravi Shankar's last raga, knowing there was no more. The test of the man is to look ahead, not behind. I knew when I completed a major piece of work there was only one more to be asked of me, and then my work was done, I could retire, resting easy, although in fact another one yet lay ahead, and I'm told it may only end when I do. With leisure to consider the how, I know that my greatest test was at the start, pre-conditioning me to alignment with the Great Inspiration of humanity.
Eric Terwilliger is fantastic in this but then again, he always was. While it's sad that he has retired, his work as a teacher will hopefully see a new generation of wonderful musicians develop under his guidance.
The second movement, this movement, is easy to make a beautiful sound and Eric does this wonderfully. But for a 1st horn, the Four Last Songs is all about getting through the 3rd mvmt - that is the hardest 7 minutes I have ever and will ever endure as a horn player. Stunningly beautiful, daunting, harrowing and technically so taxxing, the accuracy, the intonation while holding a long high note .... the heart beats a little quicker let me be honest!
The french horn is the most underrated instrument! Everyone thinks of violins when it comes to making a song emotional or orchestral, but the french horn is where it's at!
@@fartman7470I think you've misread my disjunction here. English does not distinguish between 'but"-the following statement fundamentally contravenes the one I just made-and "but"-the following statement is of slight relation and certainly a different topic than the one I previously made. I came for the horn. I stayed for Frau Damrau, because she sends me.
Personal choice, of course, but I find Norman's rendering blowsy and unfocussed, with terrible diction. Try Gundula Janowitz with Karajan and see the difference.
I had to stop playing French horn twenty-two years ago, but still remember everything I learned in those thirty years... I have sometimes wondered what Mozart's thoughts might be if he could have heard (and seen) the opening passage of Strauss's second horn concerto, how the fully chromatic instrument takes a phrase which is made up of natural harmonics flowing through different keys.
@@vincentlombardo9797 Strauss's second horn concerto is, for me, one of the most perfect pieces of music. I think I read, many years ago, that the recording by Dennis Brain with the Philharmonia orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch was made in one take. If true, it says much for the whole orchestra... can anyone confirm this?
I was having a good time looking up and listening to fun trumpet solos, and in general just enjoying some brass music. Randomly I decided to look up a fun horn solo. I played horn through middle and high school. I’m about to finish freshman year of college, and I swear the pure wave of emotion and nostalgia from the tone of this horn has single handedly made me want to try and pick horn back up.
Lovely. I recently started playing horn in my local community orchestra after a nearly decade long hiatus. Glad to be back playing this noble instrument.
Somehow I was intrigued by his breathing. He almost propelles the air inwards and relaxes just enough to let it trough. But his mouth is already preparing for the next note. Fascinating.
This really gives me a feel of a love story that is based during times of war and its either a love at first sight or the end of the war after the soldier comes home to his lover and they see eachother for the first time in like acouple years
From the time my music teacher Lt. Col. Sam Rhodes retd. introduced me to the Mozart horn concertos back in the early 1960s, I was hooked. I dearly wanted to play the French horn, but my parents couldn't afford the instrument or the lessons - back then you couldn't hire an instrument, and the school had none. It never happened, but I still love the instrument.
There are some great horn players out there, but when I think of how a horn should sound, the 1st hornist I think of is Mr. Eric Terwilliger, followed by the late great Mr. Jerome Ashby. What a wonderful sound!
This hornist's tone is poetic. Whether rendered in solo, such as here, or in Ravel's "" Pavane..", this instrument's employment is always welcomed. When used to fill out the mid tonal range of the Orchestra, the Horn adds fullness and body, which is almost taken for granted. No other instrument sounds as noble, played fortissimo and in unison--(R. Strauss' "At the Summit" from his Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64). The segue the Horn provides between Winds and Brass is notable, (no pun intended), as most orchestral offerings showcase. The Horn's highest register is second--only to the English Horn--in conveying loneliness and and a melancholic quality. As an orchestral wind player, I hold the honor of being seated in front of this magical instrument. This Horn is simply invaluable.
@@Dan474834 It’s the voicing and stepwise motion of the strings, the chords and the suspension. Plus, it’s in the same key! Listen to only the strings in the first minute or so of Mahler 3’s finale (ruclips.net/video/sJw0slhUWek/видео.html ). The instrumentation, voicing and cadence of the strings is incredibly similar to that of this excerpt, with the only major difference being some slight dissonance at 0:39, but quickly resolves back into the same chord used in Mahler 3. Also, leading into the solo sounds a lot like 12:16 of the finale, even starting the solo on the same horn note.
It is truly a mighty horn as are the other big horns I studied trombone for a number of years one the directors of one the orchestra I played with made this statement "when the big horns speak all ears hear" dr. Swoboda Portland State University.
Indeed, Divine Richard Strauss ... the last breaths of longing for a world today even more distant. In death's parting, the beauty of what was sad in life. Respectful, ever-lasting gratitude to my French horn teachers of the past: Rudolph Puletz (first horn - Cleveland Orchestra / A. Rodziński) and Arthur Berv (first horn - NBC Symphony / A. Toscanini).
Fabulous - thank you - but what about that first movement theme in the Dvorak 'cello concerto - the performance of the Frankfurt Radio S.O.'s principal horn does bring me to tears... every time! (The Gautier Capucon recording).
I played the French horn from 6th through 12th grades. I was always envious of the girls who played flute since the flute is so much easier to carry and the case doesn't bang against your knee! I took up playing a flute for a while when I was in college, but never became proficient.
Carry the horn with the bell to the back so it doesn't pound on your knee cap. Just bounces of the back of your leg. It was a 1-1/2 mile walk to my junior high, so I was glad when I figured that out.
I remember this really old joke I read when I was in high school band: Why is the French Horn a sacred instrument? Because humans blow into it, but only God knows what comes out the other side.
The french horn is the mighty invisible ghost in orchestration, proven when it plays solo. Fantastic.
There’s a horn solo in Brahms’s 3rd symphony, 3rd movement that never fails to give me chills. Love the way the instrument sounds.
I think most arrangers dont know what to do with the horns making horns like phantoms of the orchestra
I always end up sitting behind them as a trumpet player with the way the orchestras are arranged here, it sure isn't a ghost to me tends to be so loud even on the quiet parts. Though when listening from the audience it feels so subtle yet once it's gone it's also super noticeable.
@@trombonebestinstrument heehee!
ruclips.net/video/dRPVN4b77I4/видео.html
@@trombonebestinstrument Facts
Richard Strauss' father was one of the great horn players of his era and the love of that horn sound has always shined through in his writing.
This is not just a wonderful piece of music. It is, I believe, at the same time as the foreboding of the approaching end, the composer's loving farewell to the memory of his father, the horn player, and thus perhaps to music itself, which he had learned to love through his father.
Look at Ravi Shankar's last raga, knowing there was no more. The test of the man is to look ahead, not behind. I knew when I completed a major piece of work there was only one more to be asked of me, and then my work was done, I could retire, resting easy, although in fact another one yet lay ahead, and I'm told it may only end when I do. With leisure to consider the how, I know that my greatest test was at the start, pre-conditioning me to alignment with the Great Inspiration of humanity.
Eric Terwilliger is fantastic in this but then again, he always was. While it's sad that he has retired, his work as a teacher will hopefully see a new generation of wonderful musicians develop under his guidance.
he looks like placido domingo
The second movement, this movement, is easy to make a beautiful sound and Eric does this wonderfully. But for a 1st horn, the Four Last Songs is all about getting through the 3rd mvmt - that is the hardest 7 minutes I have ever and will ever endure as a horn player. Stunningly beautiful, daunting, harrowing and technically so taxxing, the accuracy, the intonation while holding a long high note .... the heart beats a little quicker let me be honest!
Oh, don't I know. I've only done it once. One of the most beautiful parts ever.
The french horn is the most underrated instrument! Everyone thinks of violins when it comes to making a song emotional or orchestral, but the french horn is where it's at!
The finest brass instrument to ever grace the ear drums of humanity. ❤
Of all the great Strauss Horn solos (not to mention a couple of great Concertos), this has to be my favorite.
But I think the horn section soli in Don Juan was my favorite Strauss part.
Strauss, Brahms, Mahler and Wagner made it great to be a horn player.
I love the horn, obviously, but Diana is heaven's choirmaster
Why say but? Just say you love both. Saying but makes it seem like you’re comparing them
@@fartman7470I think you've misread my disjunction here. English does not distinguish between 'but"-the following statement fundamentally contravenes the one I just made-and "but"-the following statement is of slight relation and certainly a different topic than the one I previously made. I came for the horn. I stayed for Frau Damrau, because she sends me.
The horn solo is beautiful, but Diana Damrau’s singing is exquisite! Such amazing breath control, and _pianissimo,_ too! She’s extraordinary!
Heaven has a bunch of horn solos, of which this is one. Beautiful.
Every September 1st, this is the first piece of music I listen to that day.
Funny, I always felt that this is one of the most beautiful moments in classical music. And now I see that others think the same way...
Whenever I hear this beautiful Strauss music, I must remember the beloved Jessye Norman's performance of his immortal lieder.
If you must.
Personal choice, of course, but I find Norman's rendering blowsy and unfocussed, with terrible diction. Try Gundula Janowitz with Karajan and see the difference.
@@VernonStradling Yes, this recording is also my absolute favourite.
Gundula Janowitz's voice is unearthly beautiful.
Clear and pure.
@@VernonStradlinghow can one think of normans rendition as such, it is by far the best along with schwarzkopf
Eric Terwilliger...such a legend.
The four last songs are absolutely gorgeous. There aren’t too many things that come close imo.
RIP, maestro!
I will miss your Berlioz Symphony performed in Moscow..... 🙏and many many of greatest Performances...
I want to thank you, Will, for showing me this beautiful piece. It has quickly become one of my favorite classical pieces ever.
I had to stop playing French horn twenty-two years ago, but still remember everything I learned in those thirty years... I have sometimes wondered what Mozart's thoughts might be if he could have heard (and seen) the opening passage of Strauss's second horn concerto, how the fully chromatic instrument takes a phrase which is made up of natural harmonics flowing through different keys.
and the Adagio to the strauss 2nd!!!
@@vincentlombardo9797 Strauss's second horn concerto is, for me, one of the most perfect pieces of music. I think I read, many years ago, that the recording by Dennis Brain with the Philharmonia orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch was made in one take. If true, it says much for the whole orchestra... can anyone confirm this?
that was beautiful Will.
My favorite moment in the Four Last Songs. ❤
That horn sounds like heaven and Diana sounds like an actual angel
the whole of vier lezte lieder is a glimpse of heaven.
One of my favorite moments in the Four Last Songs.
Eric Terwilliger ❤ best horn player
I was having a good time looking up and listening to fun trumpet solos, and in general just enjoying some brass music. Randomly I decided to look up a fun horn solo.
I played horn through middle and high school. I’m about to finish freshman year of college, and I swear the pure wave of emotion and nostalgia from the tone of this horn has single handedly made me want to try and pick horn back up.
Lovely. I recently started playing horn in my local community orchestra after a nearly decade long hiatus. Glad to be back playing this noble instrument.
“Heaven had a horn solo” straight away thought of 4 last songs 🌅💕😩 beautiful!
Beautiful all around. Strauss can be trusted to lean on the horn players.
Really love that warm and thick color
Last Songs indeed. Strauss must've been pretty damn chuffed with these last ones.What a glorious goodbye.
That solo must feel so good to play.
man i see a contrabassoon in the background
Thank you, Will Parker! Man of taste! Godspeed!
I think the horn solo from Mondscheinmusik for his opera Capriccio is even more sublime.
Wonderful
Somehow I was intrigued by his breathing. He almost propelles the air inwards and relaxes just enough to let it trough. But his mouth is already preparing for the next note. Fascinating.
This really gives me a feel of a love story that is based during times of war and its either a love at first sight or the end of the war after the soldier comes home to his lover and they see eachother for the first time in like acouple years
It’s amazing how music can conjure in us so much emotion and imagination.
That seems fitting since its from 1948.
00:00 When heaven is set to music.
Beautiful.
Such greatness and skill in playing this instrument, congratulations!
Nothing inthe classical repertoire can compare with Strauss’s horn solos for closing scenes: Alpinesymphony, Heldenleben💥💥
which movement of alpine symphony?
Heldenleben is one of the only works that has ever brought a sort of spiritual dawn feeling for me.
If I recall.. Strauss' father was Wagner's first horn .. and travelled with Wagner, too.
Aukslang @@hello-rq8kf
💯%
What a performance!
That cutoff at the end is quite satisfying.
Professor Eric! beautiful playing!
From the time my music teacher Lt. Col. Sam Rhodes retd. introduced me to the Mozart horn concertos back in the early 1960s, I was hooked. I dearly wanted to play the French horn, but my parents couldn't afford the instrument or the lessons - back then you couldn't hire an instrument, and the school had none. It never happened, but I still love the instrument.
Takes skill and musicianship,to play those few bars so eloquently. Thanks.
Good to see Will Riker has expanded his skills from jazz trombone to classical horn. I'm glad he "made it so".
Fantastic! Thank you.
Beautiful
The French horn brings a sound so heavenly it’s if Angel Gabriel is the player himself
The french horn has that intentional distant brooding sound that evokes so much emotion in the listener.
There are some great horn players out there, but when I think of how a horn should sound, the 1st hornist I think of is Mr. Eric Terwilliger, followed by the late great Mr. Jerome Ashby. What a wonderful sound!
Je reste médusé par la beauté du son des 2 interprètes
Almost like a warm echo returning to soothe you.
4 last songs are so elegant in their beauty. Not much of that going around these days.
wow, the last song of the 4last songs, beautiful
So romantic ❤
Oui ce solo est une splendeur !
well, that was short for the heaven horn.
I like horns. They have warm timbre with both short and long phrases.
Meraviglioso!!!! ❤❤❤
Wow. Love the idea. Great stuff.
The first g sharp is really special.
i liked the singer
I thought William T. Riker played the trombone.
The best song writer in history.
I remember the first time I played it. The world stopped when the horn solo came.
Straus French horn solos are sublime Bravo 👏 Bravo 👏
This hornist's tone is poetic. Whether rendered in solo, such as here, or in Ravel's "" Pavane..", this instrument's employment is always welcomed. When used to fill out the mid tonal range of the Orchestra, the Horn adds fullness and body, which is almost taken for granted. No other instrument sounds as noble, played fortissimo and in unison--(R. Strauss' "At the Summit" from his Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64). The segue the Horn provides between Winds and Brass is notable, (no pun intended), as most orchestral offerings showcase. The Horn's highest register is second--only to the English Horn--in conveying loneliness and and a melancholic quality. As an orchestral wind player, I hold the honor of being seated in front of this magical instrument. This Horn is simply invaluable.
Hier hören wir das Herz daselbst❤.
Lovely!❤
how sweet
Diana!
So powerful 😢
French horns and mellos have such clean and majestic sounds
This reminds me of Mahler a lot. It sounds akin to the symphony 3 finale, harmonies wise.
To what part? I can’t hear the resemblance.
@@Dan474834 It’s the voicing and stepwise motion of the strings, the chords and the suspension. Plus, it’s in the same key!
Listen to only the strings in the first minute or so of Mahler 3’s finale (ruclips.net/video/sJw0slhUWek/видео.html ). The instrumentation, voicing and cadence of the strings is incredibly similar to that of this excerpt, with the only major difference being some slight dissonance at 0:39, but quickly resolves back into the same chord used in Mahler 3. Also, leading into the solo sounds a lot like 12:16 of the finale, even starting the solo on the same horn note.
Soprano, and a French horn: gotta be Richard Strauss.
It is truly a mighty horn as are the other big horns I studied trombone for a number of years one the directors of one the orchestra I played with made this statement "when the big horns speak all ears hear" dr. Swoboda Portland State University.
An that on Bavarian television. Bavaria is the best place,
Indeed, Divine Richard Strauss ... the last breaths of longing for a world today even more distant. In death's parting, the beauty of what was sad in life. Respectful, ever-lasting gratitude to my French horn teachers of the past: Rudolph Puletz (first horn - Cleveland Orchestra / A. Rodziński) and Arthur Berv (first horn - NBC Symphony / A. Toscanini).
Yep, l'd go along with that.
Imo nothing compares to Bruckner 2, slow movement. Best horn solo ever
que hermoso
Fabulous - thank you - but what about that first movement theme in the Dvorak 'cello concerto - the performance of the Frankfurt Radio S.O.'s principal horn does bring me to tears... every time! (The Gautier Capucon recording).
The horn solo orchestration gives me a john williams feel for some reason.
such a beautiful performance by steven spielberg
Soprano and horn ya has to be strauss
❤Faszinuerend🎉😊❤
I played the French horn from 6th through 12th grades. I was always envious of the girls who played flute since the flute is so much easier to carry and the case doesn't bang against your knee! I took up playing a flute for a while when I was in college, but never became proficient.
Carry the horn with the bell to the back so it doesn't pound on your knee cap. Just bounces of the back of your leg.
It was a 1-1/2 mile walk to my junior high, so I was glad when I figured that out.
0:25
And after all this time I thought Commander Riker only played the trombone….
Longas sublimes!
Der Vorhalt....
Nobody:
Not a single soul
classical legends like Dvorak composing for French horn:
I remember this really old joke I read when I was in high school band: Why is the French Horn a sacred instrument? Because humans blow into it, but only God knows what comes out the other side.
R. Strauss's father was a horn player.
❤
This reminds me so much of Lord of the Rings Soundtracks
💎
I always thought Jonathan Frakes was playing the trombone?! ... 🤔😉